SIMATIC WinCC OA implements client-side only authentication, when neither server-side authentication (SSA) nor Kerberos authentication is enabled. In this configuration, attackers could impersonate other users or exploit the client-server protocol without being authenticated.
As a general security measure, Siemens strongly recommends to protect network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. In order to operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends to configure the environment according to Siemens’ operational guidelines for Industrial Security (Download: https://www.siemens.com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security), and to follow the recommendations in the product manuals.
An additional classification has been performed using the CWE classification, a community-developed list of common software security weaknesses. This serves as a common language and as a baseline for weakness identification, mitigation, and prevention efforts. A detailed list of CWE classes can be found at: https://cwe.mitre.org/.
Affected applications use client-side only authentication, when neither server-side authentication (SSA) nor Kerberos authentication is enabled.
In SIMATIC WinCC OA server-side authentication is available since V3.15 (and offered as the default configuration since V3.17). Find additional information at: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/news.html?id=21.